Chevron Corp., which prevailed in a human-rights lawsuit seeking to hold it responsible for the shooting of Nigerian protesters at an oil platform, is seeking nearly $500,000 in legal costs from the villagers who brought the suit.

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The San Ramon-based company, which posted a record $23.8-billion profit for 2008, says it is entitled to the money because a nine-member jury decided in the company’s favor in December.

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In its claim, Chevron is seeking reimbursement from 19 plaintiffs and 30 former plaintiffs who dropped out of the case before it went to trial. At least a dozen of those named are children, Livoti said.

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Morgan Crinklaw, a spokesman for Chevron, said the company had spent a significant amount of money on the lawsuit and was entitled to reimbursement. "Chevron is exercising its legal right to recover a portion of the costs we were forced to incur from responding to 10 years of litigation, and to comment any further, before the judge has ruled on this motion, would be inappropriate," he said.

It makes practical sense, if villagers are allowed to have no-cost lawsuits then it could hamstring projects all over the world.

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"They are trying to bring this cost bill as a warning to any other folks who might seek justice," the L.A. lawyer said. "My assumption is that it's punitive and it's designed as a shot across the bow of any would-be plaintiffs in the future."

The lawyer who represented the Nigerians agrees with you.

Did you read the article? Do you know about Chevron's history with Nigeria?

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Originally Posted by A_Wanderer

From a PR perspective how many people care about Nigerian villagers?

I don't know. Shit like this has a way of pissing people off, especially when they've been gouged by the offending multi-national themselves.

In denying Chevron's claim to recover trial costs, Illston cited the "extreme income disparity between plaintiffs and defendants," noting that the oil company posted earnings last year of nearly $24 billion.